# Zookeeper (film)
**Zookeeper** is a 2011 American romantic comedy directed by Frank Coraci, starring [Kevin James](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-james) as Griffin Keyes, a Boston zookeeper whose animals break their code of silence to teach him courtship so that he will not quit his job. It was produced by [Columbia Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-pictures) and [Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer](https://www.edgepedia.org/metro-goldwyn-mayer) with Happy Madison Productions, Broken Road, and Hey Eddie, and released in the United States on July 8, 2011.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67345-ZOOKEEPER) • [2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1222817/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | July 8, 2011 (wide, United States), distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing; PG rating[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1222817/) |
| Director / star | Frank Coraci; Kevin James as Griffin Keyes, with Rosario Dawson as Kate and Leslie Bibb as Stephanie[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67345-ZOOKEEPER) |
| Setting | Franklin Park Zoo, Boston, Massachusetts, where the film was shot[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1222817/) |
| Box office | $80,360,843 domestic, $169,852,759 worldwide, against a $80,000,000 budget; opening weekend $20,065,617[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1222817/) |
| Critical reception | 13% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (130 reviews) and 41% on the Popcornmeter; Metascore 30; IMDb user rating 5.2/10[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zookeeper) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/zookeeper/critic-reviews/) • [6](https://www.whatsafterthemovie.com/movies/zookeeper) |
| Voice cast | Nick Nolte, Sylvester Stallone, Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow, Cher, Jon Favreau, and Faizon Love, among others[7](https://sylvesterstallone.com/portfolio/zookeeper/) |
| Home video | Released October 11, 2011 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment[8](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Zookeeper) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Griffin Keyes is one of the best-loved caretakers at the Franklin Park Zoo, but he is more comfortable with the animals than with women. Years earlier his marriage proposal to the self-absorbed [Stephanie](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephanie) was turned down, and when she reappears in his life he decides that the only way to find a girlfriend is to leave the zoo for a more glamorous career.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zookeeper) • [9](https://ezcritic.com/movies/zookeeper) To keep him from leaving, the animals break their time-honored code of silence and reveal that they can talk, then offer to teach him the rules of courtship, animal style.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zookeeper) The animals' advice appears to work, and Griffin comes close to getting everything he has wanted, though the story turns on whether the alpha-male persona Stephanie wants is really what he should adopt.[9](https://ezcritic.com/movies/zookeeper)
## Production
The project began at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from a script by Jay Scherick and David Ronn, later revised by Scot Armstrong. In January 2009, while promoting *Paul Blart: Mall Cop*, Kevin James said he was developing the film and rewriting it himself, telling ComingSoon.net that he hoped to put his fingerprints on it.[10](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/51763-kevin-james-developing-the-zookeeper/xwp_curated_content) The finished film credits five writers: [Nick Bakay](https://www.edgepedia.org/nick-bakay), Rock Reuben, Kevin James, Jay Scherick, and David Ronn, with Scherick and Ronn also receiving story credit. Producers were Todd Garner, Kevin James, Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, and Walt Becker; Michael Barrett was the cinematographer, Scott Hill the editor, Kirk M. Petruccelli the production designer, and Rupert Gregson-Williams composed the score.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67345-ZOOKEEPER)
Filming took place at the real Franklin Park Zoo at 1 Franklin Park Road in Boston, Massachusetts.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1222817/) The production combined live action with animated elements, classified by The Numbers as an animation/live-action method with a fantasy creative type.[8](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Zookeeper)
## Cast and voices
Kevin James plays Griffin Keyes, Rosario Dawson plays Kate, Leslie Bibb plays Stephanie, Ken Jeong plays Venom, and [Donnie Wahlberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/donnie-wahlberg) plays Shane.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67345-ZOOKEEPER) The animal characters are voiced by a roster of comic performers: [Nick Nolte](https://www.edgepedia.org/nick-nolte) as Bernie the Gorilla, Sylvester Stallone as Joe the Lion, and [Adam Sandler](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-sandler), Judd Apatow, Cher, Jon Favreau, and Faizon Love in other roles.[7](https://sylvesterstallone.com/portfolio/zookeeper/) • [11](https://www.starz.com/us/en/movies/zookeeper-44747) A reviewer for The Independent Critic singled out Sandler's turn as a capuchin monkey while judging much of the vocal work tired, and noted Bas Rutten as the voice of Sebastian the Wolf.[12](https://theindependentcritic.com/zookeeper)
## Box office
The film opened in 3,482 theaters on July 8, 2011 and grossed $20,065,617 on its opening weekend, 25.0 percent of its eventual domestic total. It ran for 16 weekends, finishing at $80,360,843 domestically and $169,852,759 worldwide, about 2.1 times its $80,000,000 production budget; domestic sales accounted for 47.3 percent of the total.[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1222817/) • [8](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Zookeeper) Germany was the largest international market at $17,453,001, followed by Mexico at $9,762,619 and Spain at $7,269,426.[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1222817/) The Numbers estimates domestic DVD sales of $14,653,869 and Blu-ray sales of $3,745,086 after the October 11, 2011 video release.[8](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Zookeeper)
## Reception
Critical response was largely negative. Rotten Tomatoes recorded a 13 percent Tomatometer from 130 reviews, with a critics consensus that the film smothers Kevin James with a sodden script and jokes inappropriate for the young viewers its juvenile storyline would attract; the audience Popcornmeter stood at 41 percent.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zookeeper) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 30, with 52 percent of its 29 listed critic reviews negative, and its user score averaged 4.7 out of 10.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/zookeeper/critic-reviews/) IMDb users rate the film 5.2 out of 10.[6](https://www.whatsafterthemovie.com/movies/zookeeper)
Reviews varied in emphasis. Roger Ebert wrote in the [Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-sun-times) that it was the slapstick, not the romantic comedy, that entertained.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/zookeeper/critic-reviews/) Jim Schembri of The Age gave it 3 of 5 stars, calling it a pleasant, kid-friendly, ultra-formulaic comedy from the Adam Sandler hit factory, while Matt Singer of Time Out Chicago gave it 1 of 5 and Sandra Hall of the Sydney Morning Herald half a star, faulting the five-man writing team for the result.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zookeeper) The Independent Critic's Richard Propes rated it 2.5 of 4, finding it a relatively safe, modestly funny PG outing for families with smaller children but short of the modest standard set by *Paul Blart: Mall Cop* in laughs and heart.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zookeeper) • [12](https://theindependentcritic.com/zookeeper) Common Sense Media recommended it for ages 10 and up, noting that its dating-and-mating humor is aimed more at older audiences than at the children its talking-animal premise might draw.[13](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/zookeeper) A review in The New American took a more favorable line, praising the film's moral that one must stay true to oneself and judging that it stays within the confines of its PG rating.[14](https://thenewamerican.com/opinion/movies-reviews/zookeeper-starring-kevin-james/_pdf/)
## References
1. [Zookeeper (2011), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67345-ZOOKEEPER)
2. [Zookeeper (2011), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1222817/)
3. [Zookeeper (2011), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1222817/)
4. [Zookeeper, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zookeeper)
5. [Zookeeper critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/zookeeper/critic-reviews/)
6. [Zookeeper (2011): Cast, Ratings, Box Office & Where to Watch, What's After the Movie](https://www.whatsafterthemovie.com/movies/zookeeper)
7. [Zookeeper (2011), SylvesterStallone.com](https://sylvesterstallone.com/portfolio/zookeeper/)
8. [Zookeeper (2011), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Zookeeper)
9. [Zookeeper (2011), EZ Critic](https://ezcritic.com/movies/zookeeper)
10. [Kevin James Developing The Zookeeper, ComingSoon.net (January 8, 2009)](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/51763-kevin-james-developing-the-zookeeper/xwp_curated_content)
11. [Watch Zookeeper, STARZ](https://www.starz.com/us/en/movies/zookeeper-44747)
12. [The Independent Critic: Zookeeper Review, Richard Propes](https://theindependentcritic.com/zookeeper)
13. [Zookeeper Parents' Guide, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/zookeeper)
14. [Zookeeper, Starring Kevin James, The New American](https://thenewamerican.com/opinion/movies-reviews/zookeeper-starring-kevin-james/_pdf/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2011 to 2012 › Released in 2011*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license